The value of Hebridean sheep in controlling invasive purple moor grass.

Author Newborn, D.
Citation Newborn, D. (2000). The value of Hebridean sheep in controlling invasive purple moor grass. Aspects of Applied Biology, 58: 191-196.

Abstract

The presence of purple moor grass (Molinia caerulea) in upland swards can cause major problems for moorland managers. Control of this invasive grass can be problematic, as access to sites for mechanical and chemical control can be both costly and difficult due to the terrain. The possibilities of reducing the impact of purple moor grass by grazing with domesticated sheep are examined in this paper. Two breeds of sheep were used; Swaledales, a traditional upland breed common in much of the Pennines and Hebrideans, a minority breed, which appears to have retained an ability to utilise high levels of coarse herbage. Two groups of each breed were grazed on purple moor grass dominated moorland in the North Pennines. The impacts of the two groups of sheep on the sward composition and in particular on purple moor grass and heather (Calluna vulgaris) was measured.
Hebridean sheep grazed 62 % more purple moor grass leaves than Swaledale sheep at the same stocking rate and during the same grazing period. This was associated with a 3.7 % increase per. annum in the heather component of the sward on the plots grazed by the Hebridean sheep.